Not so fresh news (History)

31/05/11: Racing Master, really?

In the 80's, Tamiya released a series of models called "Racing Master". Does this laudatory title mean something? This is what the Toyota Tom's 84C that joins my collection will try to demonstrate.

24/05/11: Two new interviews from BaraToZ!

BaraToz is unstoppable: today, we publish the exclusive interview of Paranoid Perry, the mythical Avante driver. In addition, BaraToz releases his interview of the greatest legend among Tamiya drivers: Ladies and Gentlemen, we are talking about Willy.

23/05/11: Tamiya's first front wheel drive chassis

The 1993 FF-01 now joins my collection as Tamiya's first front wheel drive chassis. I'm now the proud owner of the kit 58159 HKS Opel Vectra JTCC with its beautiful bodyshell released in 1995.

18/05/11: Worldwide exclusivity, BaraToZ's interviews with Tamiya legendary drivers!

Never seen before, unbelievable: our friend BaraToZ shares with us his exclusive interviews with legendary Tamiya drivers. Expect many crusty revelations. Today we start the series with two exclusive interviews and more will come in the next weeks: click here.
Within the next hours, this clickable icon  will be spread on other pages of the site to show there is a BaraToZ' interview for the driver.

28/03/11: A Formula 2 racer celebrates the launch of the new Formula 1 season

This was not made on purpose but this new model joins my collection right on time. This is also a come back to the vintage oldies since the Martini Mk.22 Renault was first released back in 1979.

21/03/11: The monster

A radical bodyshell, lots of TRF parts, belts, brushless... nothing vintage but this new model in my collection really flies.

17/01/11: Publication of the 1985 edition RC Guide Book

To begin the new year, Tony sent me the complete scan of his 1985 RC Guide Book: a big thanks to him. Please contact me if you have complete editions.

01/01/11 : Happy New Year2011!

All my best wishes for the New Year: could 2011 be better than 2010.

2010 was a year for new audience records:
      from 3.000 visits a month in january, you were more than 6.000 to come to this site in december
      over the year, you were more than 60.000 visitors and you read more than 200.000 pages on the site

A huge thank you to every one of you: in addition to the mails more and more of you send to me, the very strong increase of audience statistics give me an extra motivation to work harder on the site. I especially thank those of you who help me to enhance the site by spending time and efforts to scan documents and those who give me very nice pictures of their models to illustrate my articles.

I designed this website to share my passion and I am very happy to see that so many of you appreciate my work and share their passion with me.

For 2011, I am already in the process of writing new articles. The Racing section is not open yet but I still believe it will open some day. I hope this will be for 2011: the first article (still being co-written) is a true monument dedicated to a myth... if I manage to remotivate the one who started writing it with me.

Thank you all and I wish you all a Happy New Year 2011.

28/10/10: Tyrrell P34 Six Wheeler, 6 wheels better than 4?

This new model hitting my collection is very special: an original Tyrrell P34 Six Wheeler from 1977. This is the replica of a one-of-its-kind Formula 1, a true model in motion with a very interesting chassis design.

27/10/10: The origins of Tamiya in the radio-controlled hobby

After I found new documents, I completed the presentation of Tamiya history in the RC world. This is the story of three men who created a brand that feeds the passion of thousands of fans around the world.

15/10/10: Publication of the 1995 edition RC Guide Book

Guillaume sent me photos of his catalogue to fill the library: a big thanks to him and please contact me if you have complete editions.

29/09/10: Publication of the 1987 edition RC Guide Book

I got a new mail from Clive: "fancy a 1987 edition scan?". 1987?! THE RC Guide Book on which I spent so many years dreaming more than 20 years ago! This is a precious gift Clive offered to me, so for my pleasure and your I hope, I added 68 pages to dream on. Thank you Clive.

24/09/10: Jaguar XJR-12, the car in skirt

This strange title is to celebrate the Jaguar XJR-12 entry into my collection. This car has a special bodyshell look, thus the title. But under the skirt is the famous GroupC chassis performer.

20/09/10: Wild thing – You make my RC sing –

This free adaptation of Chip Taylor famous song announces the arrival of Willy in my collection. Even if this character first appeared back in 1982, this is no excuse to consider it as vintage: this is only a serious fun factor that turns up at my collection .

10/09/10: Huge update on the RC Guide Books and catalogues

A few weeks ago, Clive contacted by mail and proposed to scan his RC Guide Book 2001. While adding it, I realized I could seriously enhance the presentation and add some pages. Now, there are more than 400 additional pages for a total over 450 Catalogues and RC Guide Books pages. I also modified the gallery code for pages to load faster.

26/08/10: Update on my Toyota Celica LB Turbo Gr.5 article

At last, I found time to finish and publish the article about this very time-consuming project. This last part is about the bodyshell and chrome. The model is finished and was even already driven.

16/08/10 : Chronicle of a Hit Foretold

With time and thinking, I decided to publish the exact opposite to my entry of july 7th about the Holiday Buggy 2010. I didn't change my mind in anyway about this model, but I felt it was unfair to publish my personal view without giving you the opportunity to make your own opinion about it.

This is why I took time to read as many favorables comments on internet and to synthesize them here: they are not what I think, but my opinion only belongs and matters to me. Everyone is free to have a different opinon: I think it was important for everyone to make his own opinion based on true facts. The announce of this model generated so many negative comments that fans who are excepting this model bareley dared to express their mind about it.

So, the question is: why is the Holiday Buggy 2010 much appreciated and therefore promises to be a real commercial hit for Tamiya?

The 1980 Holiday Buggy

The 2010 version

The Holiday Buggy 2010 has very serious arguments to be a commercial success that may even reach the Grasshopper's:
 the bodyshell is an exception on today's market: no other is so unique with such a retro look. This applies to the driver too
 the chassis is the modern DT-02 which is reliable and performant. It feature a modest RS-380 motor in order to preserve the body and to be easier to be controlled by young people and beginners. The easy upgrade to a 5450 type motor is very interesting since the fans will be able to make their model evolve once they have enough practice and control
 the model is very easy to build, even for a beginner, and most of all, the tainted body avoids painful paint operations which can be tricky for beginners (and not only for beginners if you see what I mean)
 the model pricing is one of the lowest

The overall result is an entry-level model, easy to build and to start, a model that looks like no other on the market and that can easily evolve: this is the exact definition of a commercial hit. The bodyshell and the name will probably remind memories to older people, memories of a model they may have own when they were younger. But a 1980 model, an entry-level econominc model with a very fragile chassis and an overall poor performer.

The Holiday Buggy 2010 should not be considered as the 1980 re-release: the 2010 version targets exactly the same maket segment, it uses the exact same concept and features a body that closely looks to the original from 1980, but the model now offers a reliable and evolutive chassis which is a performer. These are the arguments the original was desperately short of.

With the Holiday Buggy 2010, Tamiya made a model that features all necessary arguments to follow the footprints of another tremendous success in all RC history: the Grasshopper's. Grumpy vintage fans may think this model is Tamiya worst ever mistake in history and that they betrayed their logo: now it's time for fans to prove the opposite by turning this model into a world success. At the time, another model received the worst comments: it was called The Grasshopper...

13/08/10: Collection update

As I announced in June, I want to keep modern models to drive with no fear to break and to orient the rest of my collection towards pure vintage models. This is the reason why I've just sold three of my models, my Grasshopper II, my Lunch Box and my Baja King.

You are right: my Grasshopper II was far from being modern, but it was my Hornet double. Same thing with my Lunch Box which is already replaced with a model I still have to write about. About the Baja King, it was right in between of my modern Dark Impact and my vintage Boomerang. For a question of room but also for a question of personal taste, I made choices. Logically, all the other models in my collection should stay and new ones are on their way to join them.

04/08/10: Tamiya distribution in Europe

Ever wondered why the rest of the world is jealous of us, the European people? Our tremendous purchasing power, our patience when waiting for new items to be imported and our worldwide known sense of humor? Because we, Europeans, we have privileges: for the best and for the worst, and for laughing too, all the secrets of Tamiya distribution in Europe are now revealed.

21/07/10: RSS feed activated

Some of you asked for this feature in order to get automatic notifications when I publish a new article. Sorry, it took some time before I looked into this, but now I set it up and it works. Your browser should automatically find the RSS feed, otherwise you'll find it on the icon at the left side. Concerning a mobile version of my site adapted to mobile devices like smartphones, I'm sorry I have to say no. This site is entirely coded by me: I don't have either time nor the coding skills required to start working on a mobile dedicated version.

20/07/10: Openning of the Tamiya Museum

Thanks to two friends who sent me their photos, you can now make the Tamiya Museum virtual tour right from your computer.

07/07/10: Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Today should be a day of modelistic happiness since Tamiya announces the Holiday Buggy re-release. Well, to be honest, they announced the Holiday Buggy 2010 release.

The 1980 Holiday Buggy

The 2010 version

S.O.S. (Save Our Souls), or in this case, Save Tamiya's Soul. For us vintage and Tamiya fans, it will probably be time to Save Our Money.

In fact, this Holiday Buggy 2010, already mocked as the "Holiday Ugly" by many fans, is a non-sense from Tamiya, a marketing fault both monstruous and far beyond comprehension.
 the original body was slaughtered with two holes in the front bonnet to leave room for the damper tower
 the chassis is the modern DT-02 but powered by the modest RS-380 motor in order to preserve the very fragile body
 the front and rear tracks are way too wide to pretend to any kind of realistic look
 the body is placed way too high on the chassis resulting in an horrible overall look

The result of this Tamiya Chain Saw Massacre is an illegitimate model no one or so few will ever be interested in: the original model fans will not forgive Tamiya for destroying the body and for the missing original chassis (despite of its flaws like its poor suspension and its open-air gearbox that wears with sand and dust). On the new customer side, they will not accept either the poor motor (compared to other models based on the same chassis), nor the very fragile body. Not to forget any hobby store with minimum honesty standards to their clients that shouldn't list this model since they know their client will come back very angry because of the body destruction before the end of the first pack.

To date, despite of a very comptetive expected sale price, the Holiday Buggy 2010 can already be considered as Tamiya worst ever mistake in more than three decades: willing to reach a very wide market target, the two star brand will miss the DT-02 chassis target public but they will also miss the re-releases public who wants authentic Vintage.

With this shameful model, Tamiya betrays their logo which is their symbol for passion and precision. Within a few months, expect the chain saw massacre to continue with the Sand Rover: at fans greatest despair.

I hope the expected Holiday Buggy 2010 complete failure will not be understood by Tamiya as a disinterest for re-releases. This would be another tremendous misunderstanding, the sign that Tamiya would not be aware of the worst mistake they have ever made in their long history.

22/06/10 : Technical update

I've just finished to entirely migrate the whole site into php: this is a language that will both help me to maintain and updat the site, but it also offers new perspectives for future articles.
On your side, nothing changes: every article is still available and all links to the old pages are automatically redirected to the new ones. The only visible change for you is located in the page addresses: they previously ended with ".html" and now they have the ".php" extension. But their content remains the same.
Now, I just need time to learn how to make use of the new php possibilities .

07/06/10: Huge update in my collection

If you're a regular visitor, you couldn't miss that my collection hadn't changed in months. In fact, it did evolve as you'll see: I only chose not to publish updates as the new models were coming in. I wanted to keep secret some of my new models in order to have my friends Teamneogordini, J-F and Boo54 discover them at a special meeting.

First, let me tell you something about my collection: so far, I think I own a complete range of modern models to drive in the different kind of uses I like. From now on, my collection will focus on old models, not for any financial value of it, but for the pleasure to discover old models and make them run again. As far as my bank account can support such a treatment.

In other words, my modern models will be used for races with friends, with no fear to push the throttle stick. Old models are also meant to run, but with much more care and attention not to damage them. Only for the pleasure to drive ancients and live those pure vintage moments with friends who also share this passion.

So now let's see what's new in my collection:
 Ford Focus RS WRC 2001 : this is not a true new model. I only decided to dedicate this chassis to rallye and to give the Lancia Delta HF Integrale body another chassis.
 Lancia Delta HF Integrale : this beautiful body now has its own chassis, the TA-01 of the 58117 kit. It will only be run on asphalt to preserve the fragile bodyset. This project started back in february 2010.
 Toyota Celica LB Turbo Gr.5 : the bodyset comes from the 1978 58009 kit but I made it fit on a completly different chassis. As far as I know, I've never seen any adaptation of this kind. This project started back in december 2009 but is not yet totally finished.
 Porsche 959 Paris-Dakar Rally Winner : the model every collector dreams about is now part of my collection. This project started in november 2009.
 Footwork FA13 Mugen Honda : the first Formula 1 in my collection arrived in march 2010.

I also updated the Monster Beetle page.

As you can see, the passion is still alive: I still have at least one more new model in my collection to present within the next months, but I do hope I can finally open the racing section.

05/02/10: The real Sand Scorcher!

Both for the Nuremberg Toy Fair and the Sand Scorcher official re-release, a band of fans present a totally mad project: a true real size Sand Scorcher! Everything started at the end of october 2009 and I do recommend you to entirely read the blog that tells the whole story about this tremendous project. The pictures you see here just show the final result. Walter and his team at The Bug Box just made such a great job that Tamiya decided to present it on their booth at the Nuremberg Toy Fair. Let me stand up and respectfully salute Walter and his team

Da Real Thing !

M. Fumito Taki on board

15/01/10: Ball bearings for all

On RC forums, I often read this question: "what ball bearings do I need for my model?" I have the same question every time I get a new model. So I thought that listing all the ball bearings for every Tamiya chassis would help.

06/01/10: Tribute to Alex JUNG

There are websites thanks to which a passion was born or revives. That's what happened for me with Alex JUNG's TAMIYA R/C Collector Site. Since 1998, this site could be reached at www.classictamiyarc.com but sadly, it disappeared from the web since the end of 2009. In order to preserve this very valuable ressource for fans, I made a miror of this site onto mine to let fans still access it. This is Alex JUNG's website, his great work and absolutely not mine. You can now visit it by following this link or by clicking the menu entry. Enjoy!

02/01/10: Happy New Year!

I wish you the best for this new year: could it be full of happiness, health... and RC passion.

The site grew a lot along the past year, and statistics show that you liked it: you were over 25.000 visitors and read over 70.000 pages. It's 4 times more than in 2008! A big thanks to all of you as this is a proof that you show interest in what I share with you.

For 2010, I have some nice surprises in stock to be shared with you for the next months. I also hope to open at last that "Racing" section that desperately remained empty for so many months. 2009 was pretty rich, 2010 should be even richer.

Thanks all for your interest to my site and for your many mails to felicitate and encourage me.

14/11/09: After a so long wait...

After Tamiya's On-Road chassis strategy, I've just finished the last part on the Off-Road models.
I hope you'll find it interesting after such a long delay. I needed 2 more months than expected to finish writing it because I had some trouble understanding a few models.

03/10/09: An old lady shows up

I finally publish the page dedicated to the last model I received this summer: an XR311. It is a true grand'ma since this is Tamiya's first ever released off-road vehicle back in 1977.

Concerning the sequel to Tamiya's On-Road chassis strategy for the off-road vehicles, I'm late and writing is still in process...

05/08/09: Tamiya's range of product stratégic analysis

Today I publish a project I've been working on for more than two months. Everything started with a pretty simple question: what's the meaning of Tamiya chassis names? From there, other questions followed and I found the subject to be as vast as interesting. Since I already had gathered a lot of documentation, I decided not to keep all this for my sole use but to share it. The result is a first article you will discover there: Tamiya's On-Road chassis strategy. The second part on Off-Road chassis should be published by the end of the month.

As a bonus, I found enough material to write another short article on Tamiya's RC Guide Books.

05/07/09 : Kinder surprise

I just finished building a yellow egg mounted on a skateboard: the Suzuki Swift Super 1600. This is an on-road car based on the M-chassis, very fun to drive.

26/05/09: The band has a new member

A brand new model just arrived: the Dark Impact. I still couldn't run it so I will add news thing to the page in the next days.

17/05/09: Contact info

If you want to, you can now directly get in touch with me: go on this page to know how.

02/05/09: Videos!

I found promotional videos made by Tamiya when they released some models I have in my collection. Watch them on the different model pages: the Hornet, the Fox, the Boomerang, the Monster Beetle, the Grasshopper II, the Ford F-150, the King Blackfoot and the Madbull.

25/03/09 : Lifting !

As you can see, I updated the site look. Good bye interlinked menus that made surfing not that easy: now everything can be reach from the menu on the left.
I aslo reworked every graphical element on the site. I want to warmly thank my friend Daniel for his precious help in making the banners. Take a moment to visit his blog, he's a gifted artist who deserves it: http://daniel-martin.over-blog.com/
Thanks also to my friends from the Roadrunners team for their help and their opinion in choosing the colours for the site.

07/03/09: W3C validation!

The W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) promotes the creation of standards over Internet. The goal is that a web site should be exactly the same whatever browser you use. In fact, for this to happen, every browser and every website should respect these standards. Obvious.
That's what I did on my side for this site: an extended code revision to make it comply the W3C standards. What does it change for you? A better surf and better display (photos well aligned etc...). Hopefully, you'll see this website as I mean to present it to you ... as long as your browser is W3C compliant (none is fully compliant).
This is the meaning of these two icons that are now displayed at the bottom of each page:

02/03/09: Yet another model!

A new model juste arrived in my collection: the Madcap. There quite a lot of work on it before it can run, but I already have everything need in my spare parts stock to rebuild it properly.

26/02/09: New model!

This time, this a double new one: new in my collection, but also a new chassis. It is also a model that does not officially exist. It is a Lancia Delta HF Integrale on a TB-01 chassis.

05/02/09: A new RC models section is open.

Some Tamiya models exist in 2 versions: the kit to assemble and the ready to run version (XB version). XB version are excellent models, but their manual is very simplified and doesn't give much information. So, it is very interesting to find the kit version manual, especially if you want to change parts and if you break something. It is also time to give you an excellent source to get that particular manual you are looking for.

14/01/09: The Mad Bull weaknesses overview

After one year of regular runs with this model, here's an overview of its reliability.

02/01/09: Happy New Year!

All my best wishes for this new year.

02/01/09: Statistics!

I just checked the site statistics: impressive! I did not expect such a success.
You are more than 8.000 to have visited this site (including 25% of english-speaking people), you read over 25.000 pages (!) mainly in the RC Models section (80%). You are mainly interested in big wheels models (the Monster Beetle leads them all), the Tamiya section and the buggies. But the most impressive is the constant audience growth all year long: from 77 visitors in january to more than 1.400 in december.

Thanks to everyone to show your interest: this motivates me to keep on enhancing and completing the site to share my hobby with you.

20/12/08: New ergonomics in the RC Model section

Surfing va becoming somewhat difficult and some pages where too heavy. So I entirely transformed the section, also to make room for a soon to come new tehnical section.

11/12/08: I am weak (again)

I just received an old model: a King Blackfoot. Without its bodyshell, but I have plans for it...
I also had to modify (again) the RC section menu to make room for it.

29/10/08: I am weak

Incidently, I found a new model at a very attractive price while wandering at the supermarket next door. So I came back home holding a big box in which was an XB Sand Viper (Ready To Run version). More details this page.

17/10/08: News from Tamiya !

At the 48th All-Japan Game Model Show, Tamiya just announced several new models among which the Boomerang re-release!!! Tamiyablog is my source for these great news (and photos) that I present on this page.

04/10/08 : Huge update on the Tamiya page.

In addition to the complete overview of Tamiya production so far, I fixed a few mistakes, added a mini navigation menu and listed all model drivers.

27/09/08 : A Fox should be red?

It seems so since I've just received a new The Fox, but this one is painted red. The chassis is in perfect shape, but the body misses the original stickers. More information about it as soon as I can get into it.

08/09/08: Tamiya ... again!

Nope, no new model but the openning of a new dedicated page to the brand.

01/09/08: Updates on the Ford F-150 and the Grasshopper II pages.

I completed the pages dedicated to these two models after their first run.

29/08/08: The Ford F-150. assembly is now done.

After hours spent working on the body shell, I finally finished this model. It is now ready for its first run.

13/07/08: A new model comes in: the Ford F-150.

This is a new type of vehicle: a truggy, the mix between a buggy and a truck.

05/07/08: Update for the Grasshopper II.

It took time, but I finally rebuilt this model and included some custom changes. Needs to be tested now.

16/06/08: General update on RC Models pages.

I added information on each model family.

09/06/08: The Hornet and Blackfoot Xtreme weaknesses overview.

After over one year that I drive them regularly, I updated their presentations with my feedbacks.

05/05/08: Again, a new model!

My last pick arrived today. Again, it is an "old grand'ma" aging more than twenty years: the Fox from Tamiya. As usual, the link is in this news or going through the RC Models menu.

14/04/08: International version of the site.

Several visitors asked me to translate them some pages during the lasts months, Especially in the RC models section. I also corrected some typing mistakes in the French version.

30/03/08: Baja King weaknesses overview.

After almost one year, I completed this model page with my feedback.

21/03/08: The GrassHopper comes in.

Very active week in RC models since I got another time tunnel model: the GrassHopper II. This one needs an almost complete restoration before it can run again.

20/03/08: The Boomerang returns.

My collection grows with a new 4x4 buggy. The very same I was dreaming about 20 years ago, that one I couldn't afford then. By the way, I had to seriously update the RC model section as there wasn't anymore room for new models. Now it's done, and there's even too much room

11/03/08: Another Monster Beetle.

I saw it, I clicked it . It is almost complete : just of few pieces are missing but I already have them in my spare stock. With this one, no fear to push the throttle stick...

24/02/08: Update for the Monster Beetle.

I just finished the built and restoration of my Monster Beetle. It is finally complete including paint details. Over 20 years passed between my dream and when I became true, over 6 months between the first tries on the BeetleFoot and passing by the BeetleFrog project.

20/02/08: The RC family grows up.

I just received a new model: no big wheels, this is my first on-road chassis with a beloved Citroën Xsara WRC 2004 body. This is an XB version (Expert Build), ready to run.

I have now to think about how to redesign the model section of this site as there is no more room for future models (M. Tamiya, when will you re-release the Monster Beetle ?).

21/01/08: New address.

You can now reach this site to the following address www.blackholesun.fr. It is also hosted on a much faster server (in particular for photos display, except those on the gallery). The address at Free will remain available and will be updated in parallel.

02/01/2008: Entirely new design.

I finally learned what Content Style Sheets are. Rather handy even if I have to look at the code more often than before. I hope you'll like the new design.

21/11/07 : I got a mad cow!

Nothing wrong, no prion there. I just got a new model: the Mad Bull. This is an XB version (Expert Build) absolutely new that cost the third of its retail price. Even compared to prices over the net, it is a great deal. I'm waiting for the snow to drive it!

03/11/07 : Hardware upgrade and RC model news.

My main computer changes its processor for an Intel Q6600. Its E6600 upgrades the antique Athlon XP 2400+ that also migrate to Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon. The E4400 also goes Linux version 7.10 Ubuntu.
On RC model side, I received parts of the re-released Frog which are compatible with the Monster Beetle. The gearbox was very worn: now it is all new.
I also received a wrecked Monster Beetle that I will use as spare for the Beetle Frog. I also received a complete body set, so this project will soon come to an end... As soon as I have time for it.

21/08/07 : I changed my Internet provider and upgraded one computer.

Le Neuf (french ISP) does nothing to solve its customers problems with mails that don't send among other problems. So I changed for Free and now everything works just fine!
In addition, I upgraded the antique Pentium 4 that had been crunching Seti and Boinc for 5 years. I replaced it by a Core2Duo E4400 running Linux Ubuntu 7.04.

04/08/07 : The Monster Beetle is finished (well, almost).

After disassembly, cleaning and an exhaustive review, I finished the rebuilt of this mythical chassis. 20 years after, my dream almost comes true: I just miss the body shell.

28/07/07 : Site modifications.

You won't notice it unless you surf with Internet Explorer. In Firefox, the layout is just as I designed it. With IE however, it was just a mess. It is now solved.

I add news history of this site.

14/07/07 : 2 more pages in the RC models section.

I celebrate the arrival of the Vanessa's Lunch Box in my collection. Another mythical model arrived: the Monster Beetle that needs a full check and cleaning before it can run. In fact, it is a draft Monster Beetle because it is made of more Frog and Blackfoot parts than Monster Beetle's.

09/07/07 : Moving this site.

Le 9 (my provider) is just unable to ensure a decent quality of service so I moved the site to Free. This is the first step before I change my provider in the coming weeks. This will immediately solve part of my current problems with the net before to solve them all definitely asap (I hope).

03/05/07 : Update and anger.

This update applies to the Models section with a new comer: the Tamiya Hornet.
Anger goes to 9Telecom (my provider) for being a poor host. Complaints accumulate for months but nothing changes. They even delete their customers pages without prior notice. Apart from their mail servers that work only when they can. Well, I don't care, I don't use it. It is time to move to a better ISP!

31/03/07 : Changes on the server.

My server motherboard had a strange behavior since the chipset fan died (thanks M. Asus for your cheap fan). Of course, guarantee does not apply. M. Asus is also guilty for having damaged my RAM sticks because of the heat up (fortunately they are lifetime guaranteed!). A proof of Asus quality decline since a few months.

24/02/07 : Modifications in the Model section.

I did it again! After the Blackfoot Xtreme, the Baja King (a 4x4 buggy) has just arrived. I change all the model section layout to make room for the new comer.

17/02/07 : Computer upgrade.

My main computer upgrades from a P4C 3.2 to a Core2duo E6600. More RAM, a better video card, and more power: happiness!

01/02/07 : Fight with the Aussies.

Boinc@Australia team decided to gain our 1st world rank on ABC@Home project during a 15 days rush. The fight was hard but L'Alliance Francophone mobilized MASSIVELY. We finally did more than resist since we overtook them by over 1 million credits. The Aussies lost, we won!

08/01/2007 : A new section is created.

As I finished assembling my Blackfoot Xtreme (an RC monster truck), I've created a new section dedicated to my hobby.

07/11/2006 : Cosmetic update.

Added the functional status of my computers on the relevant page.

01/11/2006 : Resuming the Seti@Home project.

After several months of strike, I decided to resume that project, but on only one host as others are running Einstein@Home (Predictor@Home finished its 1st stage and 2nd is not ready yet).

03/06/2006 : I detached my computer from Seti@Home.

For months, Crunch3r has been greatly enhancing calculation efficiency for this project: thanks to him, calculations became 3 to 4 times faster and still accurate. His enhancement work was even included in the new Seti@Home application version. Then a stupid guy just launched an accusation of cheating to Crunch3r on their public forum. Berkeley team did not react to this, but even threatened Crunch3r about a supposed GPL license violation related to the Seti enhancements. More than anything else, this was a war of egos. Crunch3r decided to stop working on Seti enhancements and to stop distribution its optimized versions. On my side, I decided to stop that project which ethics seem corrupted. My computers will now run Einstein@home after 6 years of crunch for Seti and more than 850.000 credits on Seti-Boinc.

12/03/2006 : Dirty Windows and cosmetic modifications.

While I was setting up administrative authorizations for shared folders on my server, Windows installed one of its update: one reboot later,everything was dead stuck. Couldn't access any folder => format c: and complete server reinit.

18/02/2006 : Server upgrade.

A Dual-core Opteron 170 replaces the dual 3.2 GHz Xeons: reinstalling Windows and setting parameters is such a great pleasure!.

28/01/2006 : Update and changes to ergonomics.

I revised all the site pages and the navigation.

14/01/2006 : Added final Seti Classic statistics.

The project is now completed. RIP.

And even before ....

This site was born in june 2005. Basically, I started it to see if I could do it: it seems so, sometimes painfully. I was already trying to publish at least a news per month (corresponding to the delay I needed to be able to modify something!). They are lost: too sad.
On ergonomics side, well, let's just say the concept didn't exist at all.
On cosmetics side, well, I just did what I could. Even if the current look is not the best you could imagine, I bet you can't imagine what it used to be (or not).

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First publication: april 14, 2008 Last modified: december 26, 2011

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